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Author
Topic: 6 months and undetectable (Read 3639 times)

I just got back from the doctors. He says that I'm undetectable. My CD4's went from 159 to 157 but the percentage went up from 12% to 14%. I was starting to get a bit of a cold when I tested so I imagine that was why the CD4's dropped a bit. Apparently I have to wait until next weekend to get my H1N1 flu shot. BTW They had a sign in the office saying that you should wait for 3 weeks after getting the flu shot to have HIV blood work done.

Questions: 1) The past few weeks I've been feeling fairly tired and have a lot less energy than usual. I asked the doc and he said that since my VL is undetectable I need to be putting more calories into me. I would have thought that not having to fight the HIV the body wouldn't have to work so hard = more energy and less tired.2) From reading other peoples post, why does it take so long after being undetectable for the CD4's & 8's to increase? I figured that not having to put a lot of resources into fighting the actual virus the body would be able to rapidly increase the CD4's & 8's.

Hey Rob: If you've been a good boy and taken all your meds your numbers should be better. I always tell the vampire nurse that she should be putting some blood in the other arm if she's going to be talking that much out.

that's really great news! i'm glad to hear that you responded so well.

as far as the tiredness, maybe it's the immune system reconstitution effects that some here describe? your body & immune system have been on overdrive for awhile, so it would make sense that your systems are resetting themselves. it probably gets a little worse before it gets better. are your testosterone levels ok?

Hey Max: Thanks for the reply. You might be right. Although I don't have quite as much energy as usual on the whole I feel pretty good as opposed to my usual great. I was out with a friend and got totally drained. We were bike riding and all of a sudden my energy level dropped to zero. Mind you we were riding up a fairly steep hill with a pretty good head wind. It wasn't like I was going to pass out but I was breathing really hard and my heart was beating really fast. Apparently I looked terrible. My friend was almost going to call 911. Although the path was paved and flat we ended up walking the bikes about 3 miles before I felt strong enough to ride again. Even then I needed two 10 minute rest stops. I really scared the crap out of him. Usually I ride circles around him. He's in pretty good shape and 11 years younger than I am.

wow, that definitely sounds a little scary. well, hang in there and definitely mention the tiredness, etc to your doc. while perhaps this is part of the reconstitution process, maybe it's time for some bloodwork to ensure that everything is okay with your organ function & testosterone levels. a cardiac stress test may not be a bad idea either, if he/she deems that appropriate. meanwhile, try graded exercise to slowly build back your endurance and remember to eat well.